Method for durability treatment of a pumpable material as well as a device therefor

ABSTRACT

A method for durability treatment or sterilization of a pumpable material by high pressure treatment of the same in a high pressure press for killing and/or inactivating harmful microorganisms and enzymes in the material includes placing the pumpable material into a flexible bulk container with a larger volume than the end-user or consumer containers in which the material is intended to be packed, placing the bulk container in a high pressure press and subjected to high pressure treatment, removing the bulk container from the press. The material may be moved from the bulk container to end-user containers by arranging, in a sterile manner provided, a connector on the bulk container, which, via a tube connects the interior of the bulk container with an emptying system, for the purpose of draining the pumpable material into the end-user or consumer containers, or into an intermediate storage tank.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method and a device for durabilitytreatment or sterilization of a pumpable material by high pressuretreatment of the same in a high pressure press for rendering harmfulmicroorganisms and enzymes in the material harmless and/or inactivatingthem.

2. Description of the Related Art

Especially in the food, cosmetics and drug industry, but also in otherfields, there is a need to be able to perform in a rational mannerdurability treatment or sterilization of a pumpable material, such as aliquid or suspension, in larger batches than the end-user or consumercontainers which are intended to hold the material, without riskingcontamination of the material with pollutants, such as microorganisms,during, and particularly after, the actual process of filling theend-user or consumer containers. In connection with activities withstringent cleanliness requirements, all objects and surfaces that havecontacted non-cleaned air are considered contaminated. Via these objectsand surfaces, pollutants may enter the pumpable material in connectionwith treatment and emptying and have a detrimental effect on itsdurability, taste, smell and the like.

Such durability treatment in large batches occurs by pasteurization,i.e., heating of the material, in large tanks or the like. However, sucha method involves drawbacks owing to the fact that much energy must besupplied in pasteurization in order to heat the entire volume, and theprocess is time-consuming on the one hand because of the time it takesto heat the entire volume and, on the other hand, because the heattreatment must proceed for a certain length of time for allmicroorganisms safely to be rendered harmless. For instance, the outerparts of the liquid volume may be subjected to extremely long heattreatment for the central parts to obtain an acceptable heat treatmenttime. Many pumpable materials, especially foodstuffs, are sensitive tohigh temperatures and long heat treatments and may be negativelyaffected, with regard to consistency as well as smell and taste, duringsuch treatments.

Durability treatment of pumpable materials is also known to take placeby radioactive irradiation. In the case of irradiation of large batches,the problem arises that radiation efficiency decreases with the lengthof the distance that the radiation must cover in the pumpable material.There is thus a risk that the radiation dose in the center of the liquidvolume will be too small to achieve a sufficient durability treatingeffect. Alternatively, such high radiation doses must be applied thatother negative consequences arise, such as problems of the workingenvironment.

The most common method in heat treatment and irradiation is to carry outthe treatment in a continuous flow in a portion of a pipe. In the heattreatment, the pumpable material is caused to flow past heat exchangersand be heated by them whereas in irradiation the pumpable material flowsthrough an irradiated area in the pipe. In such a method, the drawbacksin connection with treatment of large batches at a time are eliminated,viz. that the outer portions of the volume will be excessively treatedwhile the central portions tend to be insufficiently treated. However,there remains the problem that heat treatment requires much energy andcertain materials can be negatively affected while irradiation mayinvolve problems of the working environment. However, also the problemremains that the pumpable material must be treated in a sterile mannerin the continued handling, such as filling end-user containers, whichmust normally be carried out in immediate connection with the durabilitytreatment owing to the difficulties in intermediate storing andtransporting the pumpable material before filling the end-usercontainers.

DE 3 510 859 discloses durability treatment or sterilization of apumpable material, which however is not described in more detail, andsubsequently filling the material into bulk containers, so-calledbag-in-box bulk containers consisting of a plastic bag enclosed in acardboard box or the like. When the bulk container is to be filled oremptied, this must take place in a sterile manner. For this reason, atapping device is connected to a sealed tapping flange on the bulkcontainer in such a manner that the tapping device, in a first step, isarranged round the tapping flange, and then the space between thetapping flange and the tapping device is sterilized by steam. Finally, acap nut of the tapping device is screwed onto an outer thread of thetapping flange so that a pointed hose connecting piece of the tappingdevice penetrates a pharmaceutical injection plug or a sealing washer inthe tapping flange. Before filling the pumpable material into the bulkcontainer, the container must be carefully cleaned by means of acleaning agent or sterilized by, for instance, irradiation. Such amethod enables intermediate storing and/or transporting of the pumpablematerial before filling it into end-user-containers. The methodinvolves, however, a complicated and time-consuming procedure of sterilefilling of the durability treated pumpable material into the bulkcontainer as well as sterile emptying of the same. Moreover the bulkcontainer must be sterilized separately before filling, for instance byirradiation, which results in an additional time-consuming step ofhandling.

Durability treatment in the form of high pressure treatment in largebatches has also been tested. Then the pumpable material is filleddirectly into the high pressure press so as to be in contact with theboundary walls of the press chamber. This requires, however, cleaning ofthe press between different shifts and also between high pressuretreatments of different types of pumpable materials. The difficulty incleaning the press therefore often results in potential colonies ofbacteria of the pumpable material remaining in corners, bends and thelike. In this case there is also a risk that a pressure medium, such aswater or oil, leaks into the press chamber and is mixed with thepumpable material.

The normal process in durability treatment by high pressure hastherefore been to subject the pumpable material to high pressuretreatment in the end-user containers. In the high pressure treatment,the material is subjected to a pressure of at least 2000 bar andpreferably 6000-7000 bar, at which pressure certain microorganisms andenzymes are killed or inactivated. This is possible only on thecondition that the container is suited for such high pressure treatment,which requires, inter alia, the container to be flexible in at least onedirection since the volume of a liquid or suspension is compressed byabout 15% in high pressure treatment to this pressure. Moreover, thereshould be no gas in the container since this would cause compression toincrease drastically. The drawback of such a process is that end-usercontainers are usually relatively small and high pressure treatmentthereof one by one will not be rational. Certainly it is in many casespossible to stack a large number of end-user containers in a highpressure press and subject them to high pressure treatment in one andthe same step but depending on the shape of the end-user containers, thevolume of the high pressure press will usually be poorly utilized, andbesides a further, time-consuming operation will be added, viz. stackingthe end-user containers in the manner that is most optimal for pressing.The process also limits the type of end-user containers that may be usedsince not all are suited for high pressure treatment, such as glassbottles and other hard containers.

In addition to the above drawbacks, there are a number of advantages ofhigh pressure treatment compared with other methods of durabilitytreatment. For instance, the high pressure treatment results in adurability treatment which is kind to the pumpable material, incomparison with heat treatment, so-called pasteurization, which must becarried out at such a high temperature and for such a long time that thequalities of the product, such as smell, taste and consistency, riskbeing deteriorated. In heat treatment of large batches of a pumpablematerial, the outer portions of the volume may also be damaged owing toexcessive action of heat for too long a period while the centralportions will be insufficiently treated owing to insufficient action ofheat for too short a period and therefore risk obtaining too short ashelf life. The drawback of high pressure treatment is that up till nowit could not be performed in a simple, rational and hygienic manner.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention aims at improving prior-art technique fordurability treatment of pumpable materials and providing a method fordurability treatment, which enables efficient, kind and cost-savingdurability treatment. At least this object is achieved by a methodaccording to claim 1.

Thus, the invention is based on the knowledge that the above objects canbe achieved by filling the pumpable material that is to be subjected todurability treatment into a flexible bulk container, i.e., a bulkcontainer which is considerably larger than the end-user or consumercontainers in which the product is intended to be finally stored, byhigh pressure treating the bulk container at a pressure of at least 2000bar, preferably at least 4000 bar and most preferably at least 6000 bar,and then, either immediately or after a certain time of intermediatestorage, carrying out sterile emptying for the purpose of emptying andpacking the pumpable material in the end-user or consumer containers inwhich the material is to be kept before use.

This method provides a number of advantages compared with prior-artmethods for durability treatment. By keeping the pumpable material in aflexible bulk container during the durability treatment, it is possibleto use in a rational manner the high pressure treatment which isadvantageous in relation to other durability treatments with respect to,e.g., care, rapidity and consumption of energy. In high pressuretreatment, an instantaneous effect is achieved by increasing thepressure in the entire volume at the same time, i.e., all parts of theliquid column are subjected to the same treatment, which makes itpossible to optimize the durability treatment in a manner which iscompletely different from other methods of durability treatment. Theactive effect of the high pressure treatment is besides obtained byinteraction between pressure increase and a moderate adiabatictemperature increase in the entire volume at the same time, both havingan inhibiting or destructive effect on the microorganisms that arepresent in the material. Moreover high pressure treatment has asignificantly lower energy consumption than heat treatment. In the highpressure treatment, it is possible to use the capacity of the pressoptimally by adjusting the shape and size of the bulk container to thesize and shape of the press chamber. Since the bulk container is kept inthe press during the high pressure treatment, no separate carefulcleaning or sterilization of the bulk container is necessary since thisis achieved simultaneously with the durability treatment of the pumpablematerial. Nor does the connecting means need to be connected in asterile manner during filling, but the pumpable material can withoutstringent cleanliness requirements be filled into the bulk containerjust before the high pressure treatment. After the high pressuretreatment, the bulk container is removed from the press and can bestored in this state for a period which is dependent on the intensity ofthe high pressure treatment, i.e., at what pressure and for how long thehigh pressure treatment was carried out. As a rule, it is for economicreasons desirable to perform high pressure treatment with an intensitythat is not higher than absolutely necessary. In the case when the highpressure treatment is so intensive that complete sterilization of thepumpable material is obtained, a bulk container can usually be kept inintermediate storage for one or more years in the unopened state. On theother hand, in a more normal durability treatment, the period ofintermediate storage may amount to perhaps one or a few weeks.

The possibility of intermediate storage of the high pressure treatedbulk containers can be used for buffering between the high pressuretreatment and the subsequent packing process. This means that thecapacity of high pressure press can be utilized maximally even if thepacking system must be stopped for service or repair, and vice versa, ifthe high pressure press must undergo service or repair, the packingprocess can proceed as long as the buffer stock lasts. High pressuretreatment in bulk containers also allows that the pumpable material canbe easily produced and subjected to durability treatment in one locationand then transported to another location for filling into end-usercontainers. Besides, optional types of end-user containers can be used.

High pressure treatment in bulk containers according to the inventionalso requires that the pumpable material can be emptied, in a rationaland, from the viewpoint of cleanliness, reliable manner, from the bulkcontainer to be filled into end-user containers. Therefore the inventionalso relates to a method and a device for emptying a pumpable materialfrom a closed bulk container according to claims 4 and 5, respectively,and more specifically, the invention aims at a method of enabling simpleand preferably automatic emptying of a pumpable material from a bulkcontainer without risking contamination of the material with pollutants.

The above objects are achieved by a method which involves arranging atleast one socket- or cup-like connecting means, which has an open enddefined by an abutment edge, adjacent to, but without contact with, oneof the boundary walls of the bulk container and, in this position,supplying a sterilizing agent to the connecting means and the abutmentarea between the connecting means and the bulk container. Thesterilizing agent can be of an arbitrary type, for instance hot steamwhich, with the abutment edge of the connecting means arranged at adistance of one or a few millimeters from the wall of the bulkcontainer, is allowed to flow into the inner space of the connectingmeans, towards the open end and out through the gap between the abutmentedge and the wall of the bulk container. If this passage of steam isallowed to proceed for a sufficiently long period, all surfaces in theinterior of the connecting means as well as the abutment edge and theabutment area of the bulk container will be sterilized. The sterilizingagent, however, can be some other arbitrary, sterilizing gas or liquid.

After sterilization, the connecting means is arranged in a tight-fittingmanner on the wall of the bulk container. Subsequently a penetrationtube located in the connecting means and sterilized during thesterilizing moment is pressed through the wall of the bulk container. Bythis, the material in the bulk container can be emptied through thepenetration tube without any risk of contamination since all surfaces inor round the connecting area have become sterilized.

If the bulk container is compressible, it may be sufficient to make asingle connection of the type described above since the bulk containercan be compressed during emptying. In many cases it is preferred,however, to make two such connections, preferably one in the top of thebulk container and one in its bottom, which means that the material ispumped out through the lower connecting means while sterilized gas, forinstance nitrogen gas, flows in through the upper. To accelerateemptying, the gas can also be injected at a pressure above atmosphericso as to expel the pumpable material.

The connecting means can be arranged on any surface of the bulkcontainer. Since the penetration tube makes a hole in the wall of thebulk container, this will imply, however, that this part of the bulkcontainer can only be used once and then must be rejected or mended.According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the bulk containeris therefore formed with at least one, but preferably two holes oropenings which are sealable with a cap, preferably a screw cap. It ispossible to arrange the connecting means on a cap and let thepenetration tube penetrate therethrough. In this way, the bulk containercan be reused and only the caps need be replaced before each new fillingand emptying cycle.

A device according to the invention comprises a socket- or cup-likeconnecting means which has an open end defined by a circumferentialabutment edge. To allow the connecting means to be arranged in atight-fitting manner on the wall of the bulk container, the cup of theconnecting means must be tight with tight connections for operating andfeeding pipes. For the same reason, it is usually also advantageous ifthe abutment edge is positioned in a single, common plane so as to allowa flat and tight abutment against the wall of the bulk container.

Inside the connecting means there is a penetration tube, which has apoint directed towards the open end of the connecting means and which ismovable between a retracted position and an extended position.

The penetration tube has an inner bore whose cross-sectional dimensionis adapted for transporting the pumpable material or alternatively alsosterilizing gas/liquid and/or expulsion gas.

Pressing of the connecting means against the bulk container to establishtight abutment can be carried out in different ways, for instance bysimply pressing the connecting means against the bulk container by meansof hydraulic or pneumatic pistons. In the preferred embodiment, however,the bulk container has the form of a flexible bag of plastic which isaccommodated in a pipe of perforated sheet metal. As a result, the bulkcontainer will be quite resilient and it may be difficult to achievetight and safe abutment between the connecting means and the wall of thebulk container, i.e., the actual bag or the cap, by pressing, merelyfrom outside, the connecting means against the bulk container. Toobviate this problem, the bulk container is therefore at its lower andupper end provided with an externally threaded opening socket onto whichthe sealing cap is threaded. In the preferred embodiment, the connectingmeans is in turn formed with gripping arms which can grip the edges ofthe cap and press the abutment edge against the outside of the cap.

The above-mentioned DE 3 510 859 discloses a device for carrying outsterile emptying from a bulk container. This device comprises a cup-likeconnecting means which is sealingly connected round an opening socket ofthe bulk container. Subsequently, the space between the connecting meansand the opening socket is sterilized by a sterilizing agent, preferablysteam. For this to take place, the connecting means must be provided,not only with inlets, but also with outlets to allow steam to flow intothe space between the connecting means and the opening socket and thenout from this space. Such outlets cause an increased risk ofmicroorganisms entering the space after completed sterilization andduring the emptying procedure. To have the connecting means abuttingclose to the bulk container during sterilization also means that theabutment surfaces between the connecting means and the bulk containerwill not be sterilized and there is thus a risk that pockets withharmful microorganisms may remain and possibly be transferred to thepumpable material during emptying. Having connected the connecting meansto the opening socket and having performed the sterilization, a cap nutis to be screwed, manually or by means of a tool, onto an outer threadof the opening socket. The cap nut in turn causes a penetrating means topenetrate a cap over the opening socket. A great drawback of the such adevice is that it is difficult to automate and requires more or lessmanual handling during emptying.

In an embodiment, the bulk container has the form of a bag of plasticwith a volume of about 200 1, which is held in a perforated sheet metalpipe. The pipe is provided with an upper and a lower end piece withrecesses for the opening sockets. However, it should be understood thatthe bulk container can be designed in many other ways and in other sizesand, in an alternative embodiment of the invention, a bulk containermade of a thicker plastic is shown and described, which does not need anouter pipe to be supported. An important feature, however, is that thebulk container is flexible in one direction for it to be deformed inconnection with the decrease in volume of the pumpable material duringthe high pressure treatment. Preferably, the bulk container is alsoadjusted to the press space in the high pressure press so as to fill upthis space as completely as possible and, thus, optimally utilize thecapacity.

Preferably, the connecting means for emptying the bulk containers arearranged at a special emptying station to which the bulk containers aremoved, possibly after some time of intermediate storage and/ortransport, after the durability treatment. Then the pumpable material isemptied, in a sterile manner, from the bulk container and is passed,preferably through pipes, to a buffer or storage tank and then on to anaseptic container filling machine. However, it would also be possible toconduct the pumpable material directly to the container filling machinewithout any intermediate buffer tank. Before that, the system of pipesis sterilized with, e.g., steam. After emptying, the bulk container istransported back to a filling station where it is provided with new capsand filled with a new batch. It should also be understood that thepumpable material can be emptied from the bulk container in anarbitrary, sterile manner, and not only according to the method and bymeans of the device as described and according to the embodiment whichis illustrated in the Figures and described in the following detaileddescription.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention will now be described with reference to the drawings whichillustrate a preferred embodiment for high pressure treatment of apumpable material and subsequent emptying of the bulk container in whichthe material is held.

FIG. 1 is a part-sectional side view of a first embodiment of a bulkcontainer and a lifting yoke for handling the same.

FIG. 2 is a part-sectional perspective view illustrating filling of thebulk container.

FIG. 3 is a sectional perspective view of a high pressure press with abulk container arranged in the press space and intended for a pumpablematerial.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an emptying station.

FIGS. 5-7 show a preferred embodiment of a connecting means for emptyingthe bulk container shown in three different functional steps.

FIGS. 8-9 illustrate an alternative embodiment of a bulk container shownin a side view and a perspective view, respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following detailed description, a method for durability treatmentof a pumpable material by means of high pressure treatment will bedescribed. Reference is first made to FIG. 1 which shows an embodimentof a bulk container 1 for storing a pumpable material. The bulkcontainer is particularly adapted for high pressure treatment andcomprises an inner, thin and flexible bag 2 of plastic, preferablypolyethylene. The bag 2 is at its lower and upper end provided with anopening socket with an outer thread onto which a cap 3 is screwed. Thebag 2 is held in an essentially circular-cylindrical perforated sheetmetal pipe 4 which at its upper and lower end is formed with an upperand lower end piece 5, 5′, respectively, which each have through holesfor the opening sockets of the bag. The through holes in the upper andlower end pieces 5, 5′ are designed so that the opening sockets aresecurable to prevent both longitudinal displacement as well as turning.Owing to this design, a space is defined for the bag in the pipe 4 whichlimits the movement of the bag 2 but allows compression of the baginside the pipe during the high pressure treatment while the pipe hasonly a carrying and supporting function for the bag during movement ofthe bulk container. At the upper end of the pipe, there are mountingsfor a lifting yoke 6 to facilitate handling of the bulk container.

FIG. 2 illustrates schematically filling of the bulk container 1 from astorage container 7 with a pumpable material 8 which is to be subjectedto durability treatment. This is carried out with the upper cap in theupper end portion of the bulk container unscrewed while the lower cap inthe lower end portion of the bulk container is mounted in place andfilling takes place so that as little air as possible remains in thebulk container, after which the upper cap is screwed on. Before orduring this filling, no sterilization of the pumpable material, theconnecting means or the bulk container has to be made.

Subsequently the bulk container is moved to a high pressure press 9which is schematically illustrated in a sectional perspective view inFIG. 3. However, it should be understood that this high pressure pressis only an example of a high pressure press which can be used for thepurpose, but that also many other types of high pressure presses can beused. The high pressure press comprises a pretensioned reinforced pressframe 10, dashed lines indicating the entire outer contour of the pressframe. The press frame has a central opening in which a press housing isarranged. This comprises a cylindrical column tube 11 and upper andlower end sealing elements 12, 12′ which seal the ends of the columntube so that a press chamber 13 is defined therein. The press housingand the press frame can be removed from each other, in a non-pressurizedstate, and at least the upper end sealing element 12 is displaceablyarranged in the column tube 11 and removable so that a schematicallyshown bulk container 1 can be placed in the press chamber 13. Duringpressing, water is pumped at high pressure into the press chamberthrough conduits (not shown) and the pressing pressure acts on the bulkcontainer 1 from all sides. For an acceptable durability treatment ofthe pumpable material in the bulk container 1 by the high pressuretreatment, it is usually necessary to have a pressure of between 2000and 10000 bar for a few seconds up to about 20 min according to the typeof material that is to be treated and the desirable length of storagelife. At these high pressures, the volume of the pumpable material willdecrease by between about 5 and 25%, which means that the volume of thebulk container, i.e., the volume of the bag 2 in a bulk containeraccording to FIG. 1, decreases correspondingly and the temperaturenormally increases by between 3 and 55° C.

After the high pressure treatment, the press chamber 13 is relieved ofpressure, so that the upper and lower end sealing elements 12, 12′ canbe displaced inwards and the press housing and the press frame can thenbe removed from each other to allow the bulk container 1 to be removedfrom the press housing. When the bulk container is to be emptied, it ismoved to an emptying station as schematically illustrated in FIG. 4. Atthe emptying station, the bulk container 1 is placed in a stand andupper and lower connecting means 14, 14′ are moved from above and frombelow, respectively, towards the upper and lower cap of the bulkcontainer.

The more detailed design and function of a preferred embodiment of aconnecting means according to the invention is illustrated incross-section in FIGS. 5-7. The connecting means has an essentiallysocket- or cup-like shape and comprises an outer connecting means 15and, movably arranged in the same, an inner connecting means 16. In theinner connecting means 16, a penetration tube 17 is positioned, which isin turn displaceably arranged and formed with a tip 18. Furthermore, twohook means 19 are pivotally arranged at the outer end of the outerconnecting means 15.

With reference to FIGS. 5-7, the function of the inventive connectingmeans 14 will be described. Although the Figures only show the upperconnecting means 14, it should be understood that also the lowerconnecting means 14′ has essentially the same design and function.

FIG. 5 shows the connecting means in an initial position as it has beenmoved close to the cap 3 of the bulk container 1, however without beingmade to abut the same. The hook means 19 have in this position beenpivoted inwards, with the aid of operating means (not shown), so thatthe hooks grip the lower edge of the cap and thus fix the connectingmeans and the cap in relation to each other. In this position, steam ismade to flow into the inner space of the inner connecting means throughthe penetration tube 17 and then flow out in the inner space of theconnecting means, past the tip 18 of the penetration tube 17 and throughthe space between the cap 3 and an outer abutment edge 20 of the innerconnecting means to the surroundings. To obtain an acceptablesterilization of all surfaces, the passage of steam should proceed forat least about 10 min.

In FIG. 6, the passage of steam has been interrupted and the innerconnecting means 16 has been displaced downwards so that its abutmentedge 20 and a seal located on the same abut against the outside of thecap 3. The displacement of the inner connecting means 16 is effected byapplying a pressure above atmospheric, preferably pneumatically, througha duct 21 in the outer connecting means 15 to an upper pressure chamberon the upper side of a circumferential flange edge 22 of the innerconnecting means. Counterforces exerted by the hook means 19 will thusfirmly press the inner connecting means 16 with its abutment edgeagainst the cap.

In FIG. 7, the penetration tube has been displaced outwards from theretracted position with the tip inside the abutment edge of theconnecting means, according to FIGS. 5 and 6, to an extended position inwhich the penetration tube has been moved outwards with its tip 18 pastthe abutment edge of the connecting means and through the cap 3. Thedisplacement of the penetration tube 17 is effected by applying apressure above atmospheric in a duct 23 to a chamber on the upper sideof a flange 24 round the penetration tube 17.

Preferably the tip 18 of the penetration tube is designed so as not tocompletely cut off a flap from the cap, but the flap remains fixed tothe cap at an edge and is only folded away so that there is no risk ofthe flap getting into the pumpable material.

In the state shown in FIG. 7, a connection has been provided between theconnecting means 14 at the upper end of the bulk container and 14′ atthe lower end of the bulk container and the inner space of the bulkcontainer, so that the pumpable material can be emptied through thelower connecting means while gas, preferably under pressure, can flowinto the bulk container through the upper connecting means.

Once the emptying is completed, the upper and lower connecting means canbe removed by proceeding as described above but in reverse order, i.e.,the penetration tube 17 and the inner connecting means 16 are displacedupwards while the hook means 19 are pivoted outwards. Subsequently thebulk container can be provided with new caps and filled with a new batchof the pumpable material to begin a new press cycle.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show an alternative embodiment of a bulk container 1. Incontrast to the previously shown and described bulk container, this isself-supported and thus does not need any perforated sheet metal pipe tocarry the liquid-tight container. Instead the bulk container is made ofa thick plastic material, in the preferred embodiment about 10 mmpolyethylene, which is strong enough to last also when the bulkcontainer is completely filled with a pumpable material and which at thesame time is flexible enough to withstand the deformation that arises inthe high pressure treatment.

The bulk container according to FIGS. 8 and 9 is dimensioned in order tofill the press chamber as much as possible in which it is to besubjected to high pressure treatment. Since the bulk container isflexible and filled with a liquid material, it will, when placed in thepress chamber, swell and completely fill the cross-section of the presschamber. To prevent the bulk container from acting as a plug that wouldprevent pressure medium flow from one end of the press chamber to theother and, thus, a substantially exclusively axial deformation insteadof a deformation in all directions, the outer circumferential surface ofthe bulk container is formed with longitudinal grooves 25 which causethe pressure medium to flow from one end of the press chamber to theother and act on all outer surfaces of the bulk container.

Each end of the bulk container is provided with opening sockets whichare closable by means of caps 3 of a type similar to the previousembodiment. Also filling, durability treatment and emptying are carriedout correspondingly. The bulk container is also provided with a flangering 26 at each end, serving as support, protection and attachment forlifting devices to facilitate handling.

All of the above U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications,U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applicationsand non-patent publications referred to in this specification and/orlisted in the Application Data Sheet, are incorporated herein byreference, in their entirety.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that, although specificembodiments of the invention have been described herein for purposes ofillustration, various modifications may be made without deviating fromthe spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is notlimited except as by the appended claims.

1. A device for emptying a pumpable material from a bulk container, comprising: a connecting device having an open end defined by a circumferential abutment edge, the connecting device including an inner connecting portion which is displaceably arranged in an outer connecting portion; a penetration tube which is located in an inner space defined by the connecting device and which is movingly arranged between a first, retracted position and a second, extended position; and a supplying tube opening in the inner space of the connecting device and intended for a sterilizing agent, in such a manner that the inner space of the connecting device including the penetration tube and an abutment area between the connecting device and the bulk container which is to be emptied, are sterilizable.
 2. The device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the outer connecting portion comprises a hook which is engageable with a portion of the bulk container.
 3. The device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the connecting device has a sterilizing position in which the abutment edge is held at a certain minimum distance from the bulk container in order to allow a sterilizing gas to flow into the inner space of the connecting device and out through an open end between the abutment edge and the bulk container.
 4. A method for increasing shelf life of a product, comprising: placing the product in a bulk container configured to receive sufficient product to fill a plurality of end-user containers; placing the bulk container in a high pressure press; subjecting the bulk container to isostatic pressure; and removing the bulk container from the press.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising removing a portion of the product from the bulk container and placing the removed portion in an end-user container.
 6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: sterilizing a region of the bulk container; sterilizing a connection device configured to seal against the region of the bulk container; pressing the connection device against the region of the bulk container; and penetrating the region of the bulk container with a tube in fluid communication with the end-user container.
 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the region of the bulk container is a threaded cap.
 8. The method of claim 6 wherein the sterilizing steps are performed simultaneously by introducing steam from within the connection device while the connection device is adjacent to, but not sealed against the region of the bulk container.
 9. The method of claim 4, further comprising removing a plurality of portions of the product from the bulk container and placing each in a respective one of a plurality of end-user containers.
 10. The method of claim 4 wherein the subjecting step is maintained for a period of time selected to achieve a desired reduction of microorganisms in the product.
 11. A device, comprising: a container configured to receive a volume of product sufficient to fill a plurality of end-user containers, having a degree of flexibility sufficient to tolerate isostatic pressure when filled with product, and having a size and shape selected to conform to a press chamber.
 12. The device of claim 11, further comprising a first cap configured to be placed on a first socket of the container, the first cap configured to be pierced by a tube for removal of the product.
 13. The device of claim 12, further comprising a second cap configured to be placed on a second socket of the container, the second cap configured to be pierced by a tube for injection of gas.
 14. The device of claim 11, further comprising a cylindrical pipe in which the container is configured to be suspended.
 15. The device of claim 14 wherein the cylindrical pipe includes mounting means for connecting a lifting device to the cylindrical pipe.
 16. The device of claim 11 wherein the container comprises mounting means for connecting a lifting device to the container.
 17. The container of claim 11 wherein the selected shape includes longitudinal flutes configured to permit passage of pressurizing fluid while in the press chamber.
 18. A connector device for sterile removal of product from a storage container, comprising: an outer connector having a hook configured to engage a corresponding structure of the container; an inner connector received into the outer connector and being slideably positionable into first and second positions, the inner connector being configured to sealingly engage a surface of the container while in the second position; and a tube received into the inner connector and being slideably positionable into third and fourth positions, the tube configured to channel steam into the connector for sterilizing the connector and surface of the container while in the third position, the tube also being configured to penetrate the surface of the container when moved to the fourth position.
 19. The connector device of claim 18, further comprising a first pressure duct for receiving fluid pressure to move the inner connector between the first and second positions, and a second pressure duct for receiving fluid pressure to move the tube between the third and fourth positions.
 20. The connector device of claim 18 wherein the corresponding structure of the container is a cap threaded onto a socket of the container, and wherein the surface of the container is a surface of the cap.
 21. A method, comprising: engaging a structure of a container with an outer connector of a connecting device; injecting steam through a tube of the connecting device, such that surfaces of the connecting device and a portion of a surface of the container are sterilized; sliding an inner connector of the connecting device from within the outer connector until a rim of the inner connector seals against the portion of the surface of the container; and sliding the tube from within the inner connector until the tube penetrates through the portion of the surface of the container.
 22. The method of claim 21 wherein each of the sliding steps includes the step of pressurizing a chamber to effect the respective sliding step.
 23. The method of claim 21, further comprising draining product from the container via the tube into an end-user container. 